Manifesto
I must preface this by stating that this Manifesto is a living document. I will be updating and modifying this work at those times when as I feel I am able to add clarifying content. The work will be re-dated after all modifications. An archive of past versions will be kept.
RESTRUCTURALIST SCULPTURE
I strive to capture the primitive beauty within familiar forms, to interpret their underlying repetitive architecture and construct a bridge between those simple icons and complex ideas. Inspired by chaotic and yet uniform naturally occurring patterns, I build archetypal structures, melding and juxtaposing independent and varied material elements, natural and manmade, expected and unexpected. My hope is that the simple intricacies of my abstracted, purified assemblies invoke recognition and impart the wonder that I feel for nature. In essence, I restructure nature to show it to people anew.
The term ‘Restructuralist ’and ‘Restructuralism’ have been used to describe my artistic style and my sculpture. They are terms I have adopted and develop to describe my creative philosophy and style of Restructuralist Art.
RESTRUCTURALIST SCULPTURE
I strive to capture the primitive beauty within familiar forms, to interpret their underlying repetitive architecture and construct a bridge between those simple icons and complex ideas. Inspired by chaotic and yet uniform naturally occurring patterns, I build archetypal structures, melding and juxtaposing independent and varied material elements, natural and manmade, expected and unexpected. My hope is that the simple intricacies of my abstracted, purified assemblies invoke recognition and impart the wonder that I feel for nature. In essence, I restructure nature to show it to people anew.
The term ‘Restructuralist ’and ‘Restructuralism’ have been used to describe my artistic style and my sculpture. They are terms I have adopted and develop to describe my creative philosophy and style of Restructuralist Art.
The Restructuralist expression:
The man-made must be embraced along with the natural: My sculpture owes as much to the natural world that has reared us as it does to the industrial society we have constructed. A Restructuralist artifact is indicative of our present reality and both ideas should be blended.
Patterns and repetition within natural structures are central to the creation of the objects: All physical entities can be explained through a logical notation as a result of logical patterns inherent with their structures. All entities also transcend that logic to varying degrees due in part to the unpredictable effects of the environment, the perception of the beholder and perhaps most deeply, that part of any entity that may be considered ‘divine’ or logic-transcendent. Our conscious and subconscious perception of patterns within forms is at the center of spiritual and intellectual and physical recognition. Thoughtful consideration and incorporation of these ideas is at the heart of the Restructuralist expression.
Texture and color form the basis of visceral attraction: Textures and colors within my sculptures are kept simple so as to be inviting on a visceral level and limit distraction from the overall form. For this reason, I prefer materials such as unpainted metals and natural wood finishes; textures and colors that can be found in natural or in the most archetypal and pure of industrial settings. For the narrative content of color, I sometimes add colored elements rather than paint, or simply celebrate the natural pigmentation of corrosion and decay.
Ironies of Restructuralist sculpture are abundant: In restructuring natural archetypal forms, I use both the tools and materials of the natural and industrial world. Because of this, Ironies cannot be avoided without some effort and should in fact be embraced. Evoked forms should at best suggest a realm that exists in stark contrast and direct opposition to the manmade, industrial world; while in fact, the very materials used are often the products of that industrial world, and the products of the physical and spiritual destruction of the environments the created artifacts pay homage too. I use reclaimed and recycled material whenever possible; however, it is still a bitter dance.
Harmony between the contrasting ideas and realities inherent in a physical artwork facilitates its underlying message: This idea is in part of an ‘Ode-to Irony’ that resonates in my strongest works. It is the celebration of apparent contradictions through finding and conveying the area(s) of harmonious union between opposing realities. That place is often where the artistic beauty of a manmade creation exists - the space from where artist beauty resonates.
Decay and ageing should be celebrated : Time, as far as we experience it, is an unavoidable constant. All think change with the passage of time. The decay of all natural objects is a part of their existence, and therefore a part of their beauty. From an artistic standpoint, it can be argued that natural objects are equally beautiful in birth, life, death and decay. Man usual creates objects with definite idea of their beauty – beauty that is not intended to interact with time, but defy time. The idea of the passage of time and its affects upon both man-made and natural object is a lovely aspect that should be embraced in the Restructuralist aesthetes.
Restructuralism is the quest for the simple within the complex and the complex within the simple. It is to celebrate and honor our world and our existence. The beautiful and the foolish vanity of that search is a tender dynamic. It is both absurd and wonderful, and human. In part, it is the search for the divine.
Michael Enn Sirvet
Last Update - February, 2010
